Chasing the Dream: How to be a work-at-home success

Sarah Walker Caron is an award winning journalist, freelance writer and editor. She lives a happy life in Maine with her two children, where they love to hike, visit the beaches and have lots of silly fun. Check out her food blog at Sara...

Working at home rocks

Working at home is a lot of things: rewarding, fun, challenging and flexible, to name a few. But how do you do it well? It all depends on having a good work ethic… and a few good tips for success.

Nearly four years ago, as gas prices soared and my income didn't, I made the difficult decision to leave the full-time job that I loved and focus solely on freelancing. Freelancing had long been a dream of mine, but it was both the most exciting and scariest decision of my career — and I am so glad I made it.

Leaving the office setting to work at home with two young kids was challenging. It took a lot of adjustment for my kids, family and me. But in the end, this work-at-home life has made all the difference for us — allowing my career to thrive while also being accessible and available for my kids.

Why it works

For parents, working at home means you can be there when they need you — whether it's picking up from school, attending a school event or just cuddling on the couch. But you also have to have dedicated work time too.

For employers there are benefits as well. Kevin Sheridan, author of The Virtual Manager, says that work-at-home employees can be assets to companies. “The smart ones are recognizing that the employees are going to be more productive,” says Sheridan.

Sheridan said that successful work-at-home employees have certain qualities that set them up for success. Among them: be a self-starter and be self-motivated, he says.

Also, he urges at-home employees to place their office carefully. “I think that the worker’s office in the home needs to be out of the way,” says Sheridan.

3 Tips to be a work-at-home success

Be reliable

Just like an office job, reliability matters when you work at home. That means if you say you will have something done at a certain time or on a certain day, do it. Your word is extremely important — especially when you don’t have facetime in an office.

Keep promises

When you say you will do something, do it. But while this is important, it’s also important that you choose what you do wisely. It’s tempting to say yes to everything that comes your way. But it’s just not practical. It comes down to this: don’t agree to more than you can handle.

Stay on schedule

One of the great reasons to work at home is that you have more time with your family. But it’s imperative that you actually build in time for them. Frankly, it can be hard to shut down work and start life. That’s why it’s doubly important that you create a work/life schedule and stick to it.